We recognise that university is a financial challenge for many students. Budgeting and being careful with money is all part of the learning curve. However, some students face unexpected hardship that’s out of their control, due to unforeseen circumstances and or events such as ill health, bereavement or loss of income.

Pharmacist Support Student Financial Hardship Grant

MPharm students and those doing the OSPAP can apply for a grant of up to £1,500 per academic year. You must be able to demonstrate that you’re experiencing unexpected hardship during the academic year due to unforeseen circumstances such as ill health, bereavement, or sudden loss of income through no fault of your own. Payments cannot be made for tuition fees, legal fees or visa costs and we are unable to consider financial support with retrospective financial difficulty. You can put in an application using our online application portal. Please note: applications can only be considered for students once enrolled for the academic year and up to the end of the second semester.  We do not provide financial support during the Summer break.

Overseas Pharmacists’ Assessment Programme

Make an application

If you are currently experiencing hardship, and are unsure about our grants process, do not hesitate to contact us. We can help you assess whether an application for financial assistance is the best route and discuss what other support might be available for you. You can contact us at info@pharmacistsupport.org or contact us on 0808 168 2233.

Pharmacist Support’s Student Bursary Scheme

Once a year the charity opens its national bursary scheme to all fully accredited pharmacy schools in Great Britain.

3rd (or 4th year if undertaking a 5 year sandwich degree) MPharm students facing unexpected adversity can apply and successful applicants can receive a bursary of either £3,000 or £5,000.

To apply students must demonstrate outstanding and exceptional qualities to overcome an ongoing adversity, financial hardship, and an endorsed expectation by their university of a positive contribution to pharmacy in Great Britain.

Find out more about our bursary scheme

Funding from other organisations

Government help for students

Find out more about the help that the government can offer you. This includes help for parents, mature students, and students with a disability. For further information, see the government website.

National Zakat Foundation

For students who are experiencing financial difficulty and who, for religious reasons, do not apply for a Student loan it may help to explore financial help from the National Zakat Foundation. For more information visit the website.

RefuAid

If you are a refugee, you might be able to access funds for tuition fees using Refuaid. Over 80 universities offer scholarships, bursaries and fee waivers for people who have claimed asylum in the UK. Each scholarship has different eligibility criteria, application deadlines, and levels of financial support. Visit the STAR website for a full list of universities who offer scholarships.

Family Action Educational Grants

Family Action provides services to disadvantaged and socially isolated families. They may also be able to provide financial assistance under one of their grant programmes. They also have a grants search facility on the website, offering a search of other possible funders. For further information, see the Family Action website.

Student Cashpoint

Student Cash Point is a free website designed to advise and assist students in the process of finding funding to cover the costs of going to college or university. Student Cash Point helps you to find funding opportunities available to cover the costs of your studies – from your course and accommodation to childcare, equipment and travel expenses. For further information, see the Student Cashpoint website.

Scholarship Search UK

This is a website offering information and an online search facility for scholarships, bursaries and awards available to students – pre-university, undergraduate and postgraduate. For further information, see the Scholarship Search website.

British Council

The British Council website gives information on funding for study for both home and international students. Its Education UK website has a search facility to find scholarships and funding for study in the UK. For further information, see the British Council website.

The Leverhulme Trade Charities Trust

This is a Trust that provides grants to undergraduate (and postgraduate) students who are children, spouses, widows or widowers of pharmacists that are or were registered with the GPhC. The grant is to support students with any reasonable costs whilst doing a first degree in any discipline. For further information, see the Trust website.

Harold and Marjorie Moss Charitable Trust

This trust provides hardship grants to undergraduate home students who are struggling financially. Applications must come via the student’s school of pharmacy and students would need to be enrolled on their course prior to applying for a hardship grant.

This trust also provides hardship grants to people who already hold a dispensing qualification or are a qualified pharmacy technician and would like to train to become a pharmacist. In these instances, the trust will accept applications prior to enrolment on a university course.

This Trust does not have a website, so you should speak to your Pharmacy School for further help with putting in an application for a grant.

Professionals Aid Guild

The Professional Classes Aid Council is an occupational fund, providing grants to professionals below the UK poverty line, who have a strong educational background (degree level or equivalent) or who are part of a profession that requires these academic qualifications. For further information, visit their website.

Turn2us

The Turn2us website provides a free search of hundreds of grant giving charities. There is an A-Z listing of charities as well as a facility to enable you to select criteria, for example, charities that support people with a particular illness or from a particular profession or a particular group, for example, customers of energy or water companies. For further information, visit the Turn2us website.

Self-help groups

Self-help groups, such as charities supporting people with a particular medical condition can, in addition to providing information and advice on living with that condition, also provide information about any particular organisations that make grants to people with that condition.

Individual educational institutions’ hardship funds

Check whether your educational institution offers hardship funds to its students. You could also speak to the student welfare office/NUS office.

Boots Benevolent Fund

The Boots Benevolent Fund is a registered charity offering support to eligible current and former Boots colleagues (dispensers, technicians and pharmacists) in the UK, as well as their immediate relatives and dependants experiencing financial hardship.

Please note that locums who have worked for Boots are not eligible to apply. You can download an application form here.

This webpage was last reviewed in November 2024.